Dozens of Crypto Exchanges to Be Launched In the Philippines

The Philippines seems more and more appealing to crypto investors, due to county’s friendly crypto laws and growing interest among the local population. The country’s central bank has recently announced that 29 exchange companies have submitted their application to launch their business in the Philippines.

Chuchi Fonacier, the head of the central bank said:

“There are 29 pending applications under different stages of processing, i.e., ongoing evaluation, awaiting submission of documentary requirements, and for presentation of business model.”

As of now, only two companies – Betur Inc. and Rebittance Inc. have an official permit to function as virtual currency exchanges in the Philippines. Both companies got their licenses in the Autumn of 2017. A formal regulatory framework for digital currency exchanges was developed and published in February last year, so now the central bank is expecting a rapid expansion of the digital currency sector.

The circular 944 was quite supportive to the new technology and stated that “virtual currency (VC) systems have the potential to revolutionize the delivery of financial services, particularly for payments and remittance, in view of their ability to provide faster and more economical transfer of funds, both domestic and international.” It also requires a thorough analysis of applicants to exclude all non-compliant projects. The exchanges will have to register with the Anti-Money Laundering Council and are obliged to regularly report on their operations.

Central bank deputy director Melchor Plabasan called the risks involved in crypto activities “manageable”. Moreover, the government institution will seek cooperation with the country’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to outline legal framework for ICOs.